SPIDERWEB 63 Bedtime

"Yes?..." Julian reluctantly agreed, exchanging smiles of greetings with Gradis.

"Wow," Matheio gasped again, respect s.h.i.+ning in his eyes, "I like mommy!"

Gradis looked like the perfect mom to Matheio, her hazel eyes matched with his and her hair was so calming to him, falling past her shoulders in soft waves; darker at the top, and lighter near the bottom. Not to mention her stunning beauty was so captivating, Matheio could stare for hours.

"Hehe!" He giggled, "I love mommy so much!"

BATHUMP

Gradis' heart fell to the ground, the awkward smile on her face blossoming into a pure, genuine one, "I love you too hun."

"Hehe," Matheio giggled, smirking at his father, "I got an 'I love you' from mum."

Julian pouted, frowning at Matheio, "I'm sure I could get one too if I wanted."

"Nope," Matheio refused, crossing his hands arrogantly, "I got it first."

"But she loves me too," Julian retorted, blowing his cheeks in pride.

"No she doesn't, she loves me only," Matheio shrugged.

"No, me too,"

Gradis watched as the two bickered in a pointless argument. The longer she looked, the more similar they became… like they were actually father and son. They had the same deep brown hair, their personalities were like copies of each other, and their smiles were almost exactly the same. Matheio even shared her hazel eyes and was a walking mix of both Gradis' and Julian's features. It was like everything clicked and fit in place.

She knew she was going too far with this plan. She was only supposed to make him fall for her, wiggle her way into the company, befriend his sister who is going to be co-heads with Julian when he takes his place at the head of the company, then befriend the Lims who were friends with the Stones through his sister. And finally, on one perfect day, destroy them completely and take over their companies but now…

She stared at the two longer, a smile forming on her face. 'But now… I'm starting to get feelings I wasn't supposed to have….' she thought, sighing slightly, 'but…'

"Stop arguing you two," Gradis chuckled, interrupting their argument, "you're both my handsome gentlemen."

"Huh?" the two echoed in unison.

"I love you both," Gradis grinned, her face relaxing to form a smile she hadn't made in a long time.

The two boys stared at each other and then turned to Gradis who chuckled at their blank, red faces. Matheio was the first to break out of the spell Gradis had cast on them with her smile.

"REALLY?!" He exclaimed then his face turned sour as he hesitantly asked the next question, "...you love me more, right?"

"Hmm," Gradis muttered, raising her hand to her chin to depict a questioning face, "only if you're a good boy."

"OF COURSE! I'M GONNA BE A GOOD BOY FOR MOMMY!!!" Matheio promised, throwing his fist into the air heroically.

"Hehe, good," Gradis smiled. She glanced at the clock on the wall and turned back to facetime, "now be a good boy and go to bed."

"NOOOOOOO," Matheio whined, "I DON'T WANNA LEAVE MOMMY!! RIGHT DADDY?"

Matheio and Gradis turned to Julian, waiting for his reply.

A few seconds past with no reply.

"Right daddy?" Matheio asked again, his crocodile tears slowing to a stop as he waved his hand in front of Julian's face, "hewwwwooooo daddy?"

"H-huh?" Julian turned to Matheio. Despite his deep red face, one could tell he was clearly disorientated.

"You ok daddy?" Matheio asked, placing his chubby small hand against Julian's forehead, "are you sick?"

"Ah-" Julian began feeling his hot face. He turned to Gradis, locking eyes with her worried eyes.

"Yea…" Gradis agreed with Matheio, "if you're sick, go rest babe. Don't overwork yourself."

Julian's face grew even hotter, "No… I'm fine," he muttered. ���I think..?' he thought to himself. "But anyways," he turned to Matheio, "she's right, time to sleep."

Matheio's worried face crumbled into a full-on sob, "NOOOOO!!! I DON'T WANT TO!!"

"Nope!" Gradis intervened, "it's 1:20am hun, wayyyy past bedtime."

"NOOOOO!!" Matheio continued to protest, thras.h.i.+ng wildly in Julian's arms.

"MATHEIO! GO TO SLEEP!" Julian reprimanded, his biceps showing through this slim fighting s.h.i.+rt as he struggled to hold Matheio.

"NO!" Matheio refused sternly, "I'M NOT. LEAVING. MOMMY!!!"